Los Angeles production duo Starkiller team up with English vocalist Harleighblu for new single, album

Los Angeles natives C. E. Garcia and Alfredo E. Fratti—core members of Adrian Younge’s Venice Dawn who have laid down ill bass lines and keyboards, and guitar and flute licks, respectively—have teamed up as a production duo called Starkiller. For their first album, they’ve teamed up with Nottingham, England, vocalist Harleighblu for the Tru Thoughts release Amorine, dropping November 4.

We’re premiering their first single, “Killing My Heart,” which gets an official release on October 7.

Be sure to pick up the LP, as there are bangers all over it, including a new soul classic, “Middle of the Road.”

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Out October 7, “Killing My Heart” is the first short, sharp and unforgettable taste of Harleighblu X Starkiller—a new project that sees fast-rising British soul/electronic singer Harleighblu forming a formidable link-up with L.A. duo Starkiller (the production outfit of C. E. Garcia and Alfredo E. Fratti, members of Adrian Younge’s Venice Dawn).

The single precedes the Amorine LP (November 4), a science fiction film in sonic form: in this tragic future love story, high drama collides with a cool, clean, sci-fi atmosphere via hip-hop musical sensibilities that draw on sonic references from psychedelic funk to DJ Shadow to Portishead.

It is no coincidence that this project directly follows Harleighblu’s acclaimed Futurespective series of releases, which have been supported across BBC 1Xtra, Radio 1 and 6Music, Okayplayer, Complex, AfroPunk, Clash, and beyond. Futurespective found the young singer with eyes on the horizon, pursuing personal and artistic progression and working with cutting edge electronic production talent. Introduced to Harleighblu’s music while she was in the midst of this process, Garcia was struck by her ability to combine an accomplished, classic soul voice with fresh, future beats; “I’d been playing with this idea of making an album that sounded like the future somehow, and I thought, ‘Well, this is it—this is the person to work with,’” he affirms.

A hyperactive visionary producer and a classically-trained musical wunderkind, respectively, Garcia & Fratti are a powerful combination, and in Harleighblu they have met their match. “Having been singing as a solo artist since she was so young, being the one leading that process, for her to open herself up and be guided by someone else’s vision while still being so creative and inspired within it, was really impressive,” Garcia adds.

Instrumental in orchestrating this union between the young Nottingham-based singer and the U.S. West Coast musical dons was Adrian Younge, having initially been approached by Harleighblu expressing her appreciation for his work and her desire to collaborate with him. Unable to commit due to the demands of his constantly evolving schedule, Younge instead recommended Starkiller, who were members of his extended musical family.

Playing in venerable producer Younge’s Venice Dawn outfit, Garcia & Fratti have contributed to records including the official soundtrack to the hit blaxploitation spoof Black Dynamite, and worked in the studio and onstage with many of their own musical heroes (such as Ghostface Killah, RZA, William Hart of the Delfonics, Souls Of Mischief, and Ali Shaheed Muhammad of ATCQ). In short, they have been immersed in one of the most inspirational environments a musician—and a film fanatic—could hope for, and this seeps through every note of their first Starkiller outing.

Heightening the fantastical nature of the ‘Amorine’ concept album, the project boasts artwork by top graphic artist Boo Cook (2000 AD, Judge Dredd), as well as several high quality videos which will launch from September.